Wawira Njiru the founder of Food for Education has been named among four awardees of the Skoll Awards for Social Innovation set to receive Ksh262.9 million (USD2 million) each.
In the announcement made on Tuesday, April, 2, Njiru was awarded for her efforts in providing affordable food for children in primary schools. She was lauded for ending child hunger and supporting local farmers and parents.
Her organisation delivers about one million meals a week across the country which has increased school attendance. Njiru also recently partnered with the Nairobi County Government to provide meals for school-going children in the county.
"Very proud and grateful that Food4Education is a 2024 Skoll Foundation awardee for Social Innovation. I couldn’t imagine that what started as a passion project for 25 kids in Ruiru, the town I grew up in would become what it is today," Njiru stated after the announcement.
The entrepreneur has partnered with three county governments and has over 3,000 staff working round the clock to feed Kenyan children.
Her efforts have been acknowledged and she will now have access to Ksh262.9 million in unrestricted funding and flexible support to scale her work and increase the impact.
Njiru will also receive support from the foundation to make subgrants to key partners and to extend her capacity in areas such as monitoring, evaluation and communications.
While making the announcement, Donald Gips the CEO of the Skoll Foundation remarked that the winners were a reflection of the importance 2024 holds as a year to safeguard democracy, advance equity and confront persistent public health challenges.
Gips reiterated that global challenges were on the rise hence the need for Njiru and other entrepreneurs to continue with their initiatives to help humanity.
“This is a watershed year, and so much is on the line. The 2024 Skoll Awardees show us what’s possible when we tap creativity and collaboration and dare to bring big solutions to scale," President and COO of the Skoll Foundation Marla Blow added.
Besides Food for Education, other organisations among the winners include, IllumiNative (US), Meedan (US) and Save Life Foundation (India).
These organisations deal with increasing the visibility of Native American stories, preventing the spread of misinformation with technology and taking system-based approaches to improve road safety and increase access to emergency care respectively.
Njiru and the others will be celebrated during the 21st Skoll World Forum at the 2024 Awards for Social Innovation Ceremony on Thursday, April 11 at the New Theatre in Oxford, England and virtually.
